"My idea was always to take care of the boat first and attack after Cape Horn. My boat is now 100 per cent okay." Boris Herrmann is heading into the last 1,300 nautical miles or so to Cape Horn with this fighting spirit. He had previously moved up to sixth place again. Ahead of the leading group lies the Drake Passage at the transition from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean, for which weather experts are expecting a low-pressure system and extremely challenging conditions in the area between Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands. Boris Herrmann is ready. His longing to reach the Atlantic home straight on the way back to the start and finish harbour of Les Sables-d'Olonne is great.
Like Herrmann, fatigue after almost 53 days at sea, the current changeable conditions and thoughts of a stormy Cape Horn passage are taking their toll on the sailors in the leading group. The field continues to be led by Yannick Bestaven, who, if he is lucky with his positioning, has the opportunity, just like the "Apivia" skipper Charlie Dalin, who is around 120 nautical miles behind him, to pull away from the pursuers and gain a few hundred nautical miles with the Drake Passage.
Boris Herrmann described the situation early on New Year's Eve morning as follows:
"I can see Jean: He has small sails up - a reefed main and the small gennaker. I'm not sure why. Maybe he has a problem. I have a full main and the big gennaker up. I pass Jean and Benjamin is not far away. The low has left us a little. We're in a high-pressure cell and don't have much wind. Eleven knots. The boats behind us have more wind. And the boats in front of us. Damien has more wind and is gaining miles. Tomorrow morning (local time) we'll experience a total lull before the wind picks up again from the south. I'm going to have a drink and a small dinner. It's been a tough day replacing the motor for my keel hydraulics. That was many hours of work, not easy to do. There were also a few manoeuvres, jibes and sail changes. Changing from a small gennaker to a large one, tidying up the boat, stacking. It was a stressful day. The reward will be a nice dinner and a bit of warmth from the heating. I'll be spending New Year's Eve with my European friends. We are going to have a storm in two days and my plan is to stay south and keep my boat safe. The boat is at 100 per cent. I'm a bit tired myself. My goal is to attack a bit after the Cape Horn passage."
In this new clip, Boris Herrmann shows how he replaced the electric motor for the keel hydraulics of the "Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco"
The first boats are expected to pass Cape Horn on 2 January. Until then, it remains to be seen how the positioning battles and the different strategies for dealing with the predicted stormy Cape Horn conditions will turn out. Yannick Bestaven is continuing his wild ride with average speeds of almost 20 knots close to the ice edge. His goal is to slip under the centre of the low-pressure area. Nevertheless, he will have to contend with strong winds of more than 35 knots from the north-west during the Drake Passage. This is also an option for his chaser Charlie Dalin, who knows that he can make an important move right now in this ninth edition of the Vendée Globe and turn the tide in his favour. Dalin is stepping on the gas to stay ahead of the low in the increasingly strong winds from the north-north-west, which are making him fast as he heads for Cape Horn. His attack is so aggressive because he knows that he has to stay ahead of the low before entering the Drake Passage if he wants to reach Cape Horn - probably just a few hours after Bestaven.
Boris Herrmann heads for Cape Horn in good spirits, despite the unfavourable forecast. Some of the clouds in the background almost look like land...
Meanwhile, the field of their chasing group is spreading out a little because the wind conditions between the 54th and 56th parallel south with water temperatures of six degrees and air temperatures of three degrees Celsius are not the same for everyone. Against this backdrop, the tension is rising noticeably once again just in time for New Year's Eve: who will greet the New Year in the best possible way by passing the third and most important cape on this "Route of the Three Capes", and who might have to give up?
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
